


Ethereal Hopes

by joe_cool



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Dystopia, F/M, Featuring a weird use of etymology, It's established in year 2057 and that's it folks, Oh also, POV Second Person, Post-Apocalypse, So it can be dramatic and stuff, The Fourth War, ish, what is tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 18:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16247381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joe_cool/pseuds/joe_cool
Summary: You knew this was going to happen any time. You didn’t know when the first noise would be, no one really knew it, but all of you were informed that war was getting closer by the West front of Luxus and that it would be inevitable. So the only possible option was to pack all your most valuable possessions and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait for a first signal.It’s here. It’s time to evacuate.





	Ethereal Hopes

**Author's Note:**

> Whatup, it me, Candy aka joe_cool  
> This one-shot is established in the year 2057 and was originally a school work where we would write about how we imagine the future, and I really liked the result so, here it is :D I wanna thank my girl RaisedToKeepQuiet for proofreading it (I made a lot of typos holy shit) and everyone for reading and uuh enjoy!

**You knew this was going to happen any time. You didn’t know when the first noise would be, no one really knew it, but all of you were informed that war was getting closer by the West front of Luxus and that it would be inevitable. So the only possible option was to pack all your most valuable possessions and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait for a first signal.**

**It’s here. It’s time to evacuate.**

 

You cannot bear the sound of the Notuceres in your ears, any trace of sleepiness is gone but you take seconds to really come back to lucidity. You realize you’re in your room and get up. Fortunately, you already have your backpack ready, you have had it ready since more than a month ago.

You know what’s the first thing that comes into your mind, besides getting out of there?

Aetheria.

 

She has no one, except for you, even if she constantly denies it. Even if she rolls her eyes every time you offer her a piece of your food, or a glass of water, or a place to sleep.

She looks directly into your eyes and tells you “No, thank you. I’m fine.” With the most confident tone, even when her whole appearance tells you otherwise and that’s exactly what you love about her. Aetheria always walks with her head high, running reckless, jumping on the roofs and breaking fiercely the rules. You love that she’s so different from you.

Aetheria has no one, so it’s your priority to find her and take her to Fortistio, as you have promised a couple of years ago. There are no more wars on Fortistio (well, at least, that’s what they say on the Notuceres) but it will take an eternity to get there. It will be worth it.

 

You don’t even have the time to think about all that’s about to be lost, another city being the victim of the Legisere and falling, it won’t be new. You just run around your room trying to find any last memory you find necessary, it is like one of those routine checkups that you already know, just faster this time, because the Notuceres don’t stop refreshing your mind with all that’s happening and neither do the people’s yells, which increase more and more and won’t stop.

“It’s time to evacuate Luxus. Keep calm and evacuate. It’s time to evacuate Luxus…” Luckily, it’s not like the habitants have many possessions, everything fits in a normal sized backpack that you hang on your shoulders. You get out of the house almost as fast as a bullet.

On the first wall you find while getting out there’s a Noticere, that holographic projection of a woman  suggesting with a peaceful voice that you keep calm and you feel like nobody is listening to her because you keep running. As you approach the crowd, who push and yell at each other and try to find their loved ones, you remember how selfish we have all become ever since the beginning of the Fourth War.

 

You stop to contemplate the scene, but especially you’re doing it to look around and try to think about where the hell you could find Aetheria. You run your hands through your hair and realize that you’re sweating uncontrollably.

You like to pretend you’re prepared but, let’s be honest, there’s really no way to be prepared for a war like this. You breathe deeply twice and finally remember.

The last time you saw her, she was tired, and this was at the Concorde Plaza, on one of the alleys close to the fountain.

 

It’s not that far and you are going full speed, so you arrive to that fountain to see that there’s only one person, sitting against it and staring into the sky. This is how you feel when you’re with her, like there’s nothing more than her energy that glows everywhere she is. Every sound filling Luxus stops existing in your mind because of her.

You get closer and she finally notices your presence, her expression turns into one of anger.

“God damnit Iuvare!” She stands up abruptly and pushes you. “What the hell are you doing here?! Didn’t you hear the Notuceres?” She’s (almost literally) smoking. You don’t get startled with her attitude, because deep down you find it cute how her face turns red from this anger.

“Shouldn’t I tell you the same thing? You’re insane if you think I’ll leave without you, Aetheria. I made you a promise and I’m not planning on breaking it, whatever happens.” You tell her firmly. She rolls her eyes, as always and turns around, you see she’s ready to go back to one of the many refuges she has.

At any other moment you would’ve let her go, but you’re done with that, you’re done with losing time and every chance you’ve had with her. You go ahead and in a blink of an eye you stand in front of her, you let all those emotions you’ve repressed over the years out and take control over you.

“Why can’t you for once leave that stupid façade, Aetheria!? Can’t you for one damn time allow someone to care for you?” You’re furious, which takes her by surprise. You wish to continue and express everything, absolutely everything. You love her, but you cannot stand her at the same time and you don’t know how is that even possible.

Aetheria speaks softly and places a hand over your shoulders.

“Iuvare, we’re all lost anyway… I know I made you promise this in a moment of vulnerability but we both now that’s not possible. We will never get to Fortistio as we want so much, because the war will never end… don’t you realize?” Her voice breaks and this becomes the very first moment in all the friendship you’ve had with her in which you see some tears welling up in her eyes. You can’t bear it. “We all started to die slowly ever since the Fourth War arrived. Luxus is dead. Communications are dead except for the Notuceres that are here to remind us that everything has gone to hell, Iuvare. Our hopes are dead. So, if you want to leave, just do it, for fuck’s sake!”

You press your lips together and feel like you’re about to cry besides her, if it wasn’t for the lights on every building around you starting to go off.

 

Now it’s the time to panic, real panic for you. And it’s not because part of you starts to believe in her words, but because you finally hear the sound of an explosion from the distance.

“Oh, shit… the Avises approach” Aetheria whispers as both of you direct your gazes towards the massive cloud of smoke that arises far.

You look at Aetheria for a brief second that turns into an eternity, and life happens in slow motion. Fuck, she’s beautiful, and her beautiful eyes still shine, reflecting the neon lights that slowly disappear. You look at the contrast of her black clothing with her pale skin. You look at the way she takes a breath, at the way her eyes stare in shock and at the way her hands never abandons your shoulder. You know she’s scared.

 

You take her arm without thinking twice. You don’t like to break promises, because you’re a softie and this time you’re not bothered by the thought.

“Iuvara! Shit! Stop it! Where the hell are we going? Do you even have a plan?”

You might ignore her yelling. Actually, you barely understand her words, you’re too concentrated thanks to the adrenaline that fills your blood as you hurry.

It’s funny when she asks you if you have a plan, because she should know by now that yes, despite the war taking you by surprise, you love her and that’s why you’ve created backup plans even for the backup plans. For now, you’ll use Plan A.

You run through the alley and that’s how you get to the less crowded streets (which is not that hard, considering Luxus itself is not that crowded). She yells again at another explosion.

 

 

You have run out of breath, but you have arrived. Both of you notice that the sky is turning into a lighter blue as time passes. Aetheria left hysteria thanks to the exhaustion. Now it seems like she wants to cry so you decide to hug her tightly as she takes in the new environment.

“What place is this?”

“This is the parking lot of what used to be a _stadium_ , and people stopped using it when the Fourth War started. But, today, it’s our escape” You offer her a weak smile, waiting for a reaction. There’s a silence, which is only broken when you both hear an engine and a claxon.

Before you, appears a Mobilare, probably one of the last to function on Luxus. You will use it to get to the coast of Phannim. The door opens revealing two young women: Fera and Pretumia.

“What up, _amicus?_ Did someone ask for a Mobilare with destination to Fortistio or what?” Fera yells from the wheel with Pretumia as her co-driver. Aetheria instantly gets infected with the good attitude and you feel relief. Both take breaths as if it was the first time in a long time you have been able to do it, because maybe not all hopes are dead yet.

“You can bet on it, girl…”


End file.
